Animal attractant system

ABSTRACT

Animal attractant compositions, devices, systems and methods that can be deployed to attract game animals, such as deer by stimulating several of the animal&#39;s senses to attract animals to a desired location. The invention can use a combination of ultraviolet brighteners for visual interest and one or more of deer urine based scents, foods, mineral or salt. The invention capitalizes on the link between many animals&#39; ability to see ultraviolet light with their desire to visualize urine territory markers left by other animals of the same species.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This invention is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/591,819 filed Aug. 22, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,623,346, which is aContinuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/653,447filed Dec. 14, 2009, now abandoned, by the same inventors of the subjectinvention. The entire disclosure of each of the applications listed inthis paragraph are incorporated herein by specific reference thereto.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of hunting game animals, and morespecifically to animal attractant compositions, devices, systems andmethods to attract game animals by stimulating several of the animal'ssenses.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

In the past, science has discovered that some animals possess visioncapable of detecting light both in the visible spectrum (˜400 to ˜700nanometers wavelength) and the near ultraviolet (˜200 to ˜400 nanometerswavelength). The evolutionary advantages afforded by this ability arevaried. Many fruits, flowers, and seeds are more prominent when viewedin ultraviolet light as compared with normal visible wavelengths.Insects use ultraviolet emissions from stars and the moon to aid inflight navigation. The blood and urine of some animals is easilydetected using ultraviolet light.

Various fabric dyes have been found to “glow” when viewed withultraviolet light and are undesirable in hunting applications. Clothingtreated with such dyes, including clothing that appears camouflaged whenviewed in visible light, has been found to be unsuitable for hunters.Hunters wearing such clothing appears as a bright, moving beacon to gameanimals. Calling attention to oneself in such a manner often frightensgame animals causing them to flee from the hunter.

Common household laundry detergents have often included ultravioletbrighteners designed to give clothes a whiter appearance upon washing.While a whiter appearance can be considered a positive selling point forthe average consumer, for the hunter seeking to blend into the forest,using such products only compounds the problem of camouflage. An entireindustry has developed to produce fabric dyes and detergents that arethemselves not visible in ultraviolet light or mute ultravioletsignatures in existing products.

While all the aforementioned prior art seeks to avoid detection byanimals capable of seeing ultraviolet light, there is little in theprior art directed towards using an animal's ability to see ultravioletlight as an attractant.

Published Patent Application 2007/0199228 to Johnson (formerly U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/711,409) describes a decoy with a surfacereflection that closely matches the spectral reflectance of the animalit is designed to mimic, including both human-visible and ultravioletwavelengths in order to make the decoy appear more realistic to thetarget animals.

However, this reference is limited in scope insofar as it only teachesthe use of ultraviolet reflectance for lifelike mimicry. The prior artpublication is silent about the use of ultraviolet reflectance incombination with other attractant methods or the use of ultravioletbrighteners to render an object “super bright” as an animal attractant.

Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the priorart.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide animalattractant compositions, devices, systems and methods to attract gameanimals by stimulating several of the animal's senses.

The novel invention includes deployable animal attractant compositions,devices, systems and methods that can be used to attract animals to adesired location using a combination of ultraviolet brighteners forvisual interest and one or more of scent, salt, and motion. Theinvention can capitalize on the link between many animals' ability tosee ultraviolet light with their desire to visualize urine territorymarkers left by other animals of the same species.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the presently preferredembodiments which are illustrated schematically in the accompanyingdrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention indetail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplications to the details of the particular arrangements shown sincethe invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminologyused herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

The present invention can include a base substrate, an ultravioletbrightener, and, optionally, one or more additional attractants such asanimal scent, salt, and motion.

The base substrate can be fashioned into any geometry, but mostadvantageously such a geometry should not approximate naturallyoccurring shapes such as animals or plants. One such preferred geometrycan include an elongated, flat, rectangular plate roughly the size andshape of a common paint stirring stick. Another geometry can be anirregular, unnatural shape such as several cojoined circular disks.These and other geometries when hung from a tree branch by a lanyard,can flutter and move in the breeze in a manner that piques an animal'scuriosity with pleasing, natural motion while not appearing threatening.A nonthreatening yet unnatural looking object draws visual attentionfrom far away.

The base substrate can be composed of, but not limited to,thermoplastics, thermosets, wood, and metal. Thermoplastics arepreferred for their easy manipulation plus the ability to incorporateadditives, such as pigments and ultraviolet brighteners into the moltenplastic instead of applying them as a surface treatment. The substratecan be fashioned by physical methods common in the art such as moldingof molten materials or machining from rough stock.

In one embodiment, the base substrate can be fabricated from abrightly-colored material to make it visible from great distances by ahuman observer or hunter. The substrate also incorporates an ultravioletbrightener, defined as a pigment, dye, or surface treatment that rendersthe base substrate brightly visible in near ultraviolet light (˜200 to˜400 nanometer wavelength). This can be a key feature of the invention.One such commercially available optical brightener can include but isnot limited to 2,2′-(2,5-thiophenediyl) bis (5-tert-butylbenzoxazole),trade named BENETEX® OB (CAS #7128-64-5) and manufactured by MayzoCorporation.

In the preferred embodiment, the base substrate can be fabricated from aflexible, porous ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer that can becharged with a natural or synthetic animal scent attractant. The scentattractant can include, but is not limited to, any combination of animalattractant oil secretion, musk, urine, pheromone, preorbital glandsecretion, and a proprietary synthetic attractant.

In one embodiment, the scent attractant can be packaged separately fromthe base substrate. Just prior to deployment, the scent attractant caninclude a liquid, aerosol, or semi-solid, and can be applied to theouter surface of the base substrate. The At periodic intervals (daily,weekly, etc.), the base substrate can be recharged with the scentmaterial.

Many wild animals also crave salt. The base substrate of the presentinvention can be impregnated or coated with crystalline salt, typicallysodium chloride, as a way of enticing wild animals to repeatedly returnto the invention. While scents may attract animals once, their dietaryneed for salt will condition them to return regularly.

Table 1A shows the mixture components for liquid deer scent and liquidUV brightener.

TABLE 1A Range Mixture Components Amounts or percentages Preferred RangeLiquid Deer Scent Any amount (for Any amount (for example 100 ml)example 100 ml) Liquid (Aqueous Approximately 1-30 Approximately 20-30all) UV Brightener mL (or a 1%-30% mL (or a 20%-30% Liquid UV Liquid UVBrightener to Brightener to Liquid Deer Scent) Liquid Deer Scent)Liquid Deer Scent can include deer urine based scents including but notlimited to doe urine, buck urine, mixed urine, doe-in-heat urine,doe-in-estrus urine, rutting buck, and the like. RuttingBuck can includeurine collected from genetically superior breeding bucks. This urine,which contains a high concentration of testosterone, attracts dominantbucks.

Liquid UV Brightener can include UV tracer dyes or UV dyes. For our testsubject we used UV tracer dyes from Risk Reactor of Santa Ana, Calif.Other companies make tracer dyes and dyes also that can be used.

We found that the Liquid UV Brightener should be added to the LiquidDeer scent and mixed as the UV brightener is introduced. Roomtemperature seems to work best. Once the deer scent and liquid UVbrightener were mixed in correct amounts the deer scent would“fluoresce” when exposed to black or UV light. In consumer use theconsumer will need to agitate, stir or shake the mixture to ensureproper mixing. The mixture should be stored in a dark tinted bottle toprevent breakdown of the UV enhancers.

Table 1B lists components for mixing liquid deer scent with a powder(dry) form UV brightener.

TABLE 1B Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeLiquid Deer Scent 100 mL for example 100 mL, for example Powder form UVApproximately 1-30 Approximately 15-25 Brightener grams (per every grams(per every 100 100 ml) ml)

Liquid Deer Scent can include deer urine, including but not limited todoe urine, buck urine, mixed urine, doe-in-heat urine, doe-in-estrusurine, rutting buck, and the like. All urine based scent used forattracting deer.

Powder or dry form UV Brightener can include any number of powder orcrystalline UV brightener or whitening agents. For our test subject weused a Fluorescent Whitening agent called Benetex OB-M1 in which thechemical name is cited in the application.

We found that the Powder or dry form UV Brightener should be added tothe Liquid Deer scent and mixed as the UV brightener is introduced. Roomtemperature seems to work best. Once the deer scent and powder/dry formUV brightener were mixed in correct amounts the deer scent would“fluoresce” under black or UV light. In consumer use the consumer willneed to agitate, stir or shake the mixture to ensure proper mixing. Themixture should be stored in a dark tinted bottle to prevent breakdown ofthe UV enhancers.

Table 2A shows the mixture compositions of liquid food attractant scentand liquid brightener.

TABLE 2A Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeLiquid Food 100 mL, for example 100 mL, for example Attractant ScentLiquid UV Approximately 1-30 Approximately 20-30 Brightener mL (or a1%-30% mL (or a 20%-30% Liquid UV Liquid UV Brightener to Brightener toLiquid Food Scent) Liquid Food Scent)

Liquid (Aqueous) Food Attractant Scent can include any scent thatattracts game animals in particular deer. Examples would be scents suchas liquid mixtures of edible foods, such as mixing ground up versions ofedible foods into water, and the like. The edible foods can be selectedfrom at least one of: acorn, corn, beets, apples, pears, persimmons,clovers, grasses, grains, and the like. There is a wide variety ofliquid scent used to attract deer.

Liquid UV Brightener can include UV tracer dyes or UV dyes. For our testsubject we used UV tracer dyes from Risk Reactor, as well as severalother companies make tracer dyes and dyes also.

We found that the Liquid UV Brightener should be added to the LiquidFood scent and mixed as the UV brightener is introduced. Roomtemperature seems to work best. Once the food scent and liquid UVbrightener are mixed in correct amounts the deer scent would “fluoresce”under black or UV light. In consumer use the consumer will need toagitate, stir or shake the mixture to ensure proper mixing. The mixtureshould be stored in a dark tinted bottle to prevent breakdown of the UVenhancers.

Table 2B shows the mixture components for liquid food scent and dry UVbrighteners.

TABLE 2B Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeLiquid Food 100 mL, for example 100 mL, for example Attractant ScentPowder form UV Approximately 1-30 Approximately 15-25 Brightener grams,per every grams per every 100 100 ml ml

Liquid Food Scent can include any scent that attracts game animals inparticular deer. Examples would be scents from liquified versions offoods that can be selected from at least one of acorn, corn, beets,apples, pears, persimmons, clovers, grasses, grains, and the like. Thereis a wide variety of liquid scent used to attract deer

Powder or dry form UV Brightener can include any number of powder orcrystalline UV brightener or whitening agents. For our test subject weused a Fluorescent Whitening agent called Benetex OB-M1 in which thechemical name is cited in the application

We found that the Powder or dry form UV Brightener should be added tothe Liquid Food scent and mixed as the UV brightener is introduced. Roomtemperature seems to work best. Once the food scent and powder, dry formUV brightener were mixed in correct amounts the deer scent would“fluoresce” under black or UV light. In consumer use the consumer willneed to agitate, stir or shake the mixture to ensure proper mixing. Themixture should be stored in a dark tinted bottle to prevent breakdown ofthe UV enhancers.

Table 3A shows the mixture components of dry food attractants that caninclude consumable foodstuff having a food value, especially a nutrientsuch as fat or protein, with a liquid brightener.

TABLE 3A Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeDry Food Attractant Any weight Any weight Liquid UV Approximately 1%-Approximately 20% Brightener 30% mixture by to 30% mixture by weightweight

Dry Food Attractants can include any food product that attracts gameanimals and that they may eat. Examples would be: acorns, corn, beets,apples, pears, persimmons, clovers, grasses, alfalfas, grains, beans,soybeans, turnips, and the like. There is a wide of dry food attractantsused as bait for deer.

Liquid UV Brightener can include UV tracer dyes or UV dyes. For our testsubject we used UV tracer dyes from Risk Reactor but several othercompanies make tracer dyes and dyes also.

The Liquid UV Brightener can be added as a supplement to the Dry FoodAttractant just prior to taking the attractant to the field or in thefield. The Liquid UV Enhancer can also be added to the Dry FoodAttractant in the manufacturing process as long as precautions are madeduring packaging that there will be no leakage. The Mixture can also bethoroughly mixed by placing in a container and shaking or agitating. Thecontainer can be as simple as a bucket, bag, or other mixing container.

Table 3B shows the mixture components of dry food attractant with dry UVbrightener.

TABLE 3B Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeDry Food Attractant Any weight Any weight Dry or Powder FormApproximately 1% to Approximately 20%- UV Brightener 30% mixture by 30%mixture by weight weight

Dry Food Attractants can include any food product that attracts gameanimals and that they may eat. Examples would be: acorns, corn, beets,apples, pears, persimmons, clovers, grasses, alfalfas, grains, beans,soybeans, turnips, etc. There is a wide of dry food attractants used asbait or attractant for deer. This includes any food that a deer mayingest both naturally occurring and placed by man. Examples are citedabove.

Powder or dry form UV Brightener can include any number of powder orcrystalline UV brightener or whitening agents. For our test subject weused a Fluorescent Whitening agent called Benetex OB-M1 in which thechemical name is cited in the application

The Dry or Powder Form UV Brightener can be added as a supplement to theDry Food Attractant just prior to taking the attractant to the field orin the field. The Dry or Powder Form UV Brightener can also be added tothe Dry Food Attractant in the manufacturing process by mixingthoroughly in a mixer or by hand. Mixture can also be thoroughly mixedby placing in a container and shaking or agitating. The container can beas simple as a bucket, bag, or other mixing container.

Table 4A shows the mixture components of dry food attractant and liquidUV brightener.

TABLE 4A Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeDry Mineral or Any weight Any weight Salt Attractant Liquid UVApproximately Approximately Brightener 1%-30% mixture 20%-30% mixture byweight by weight

Dry Mineral or Salt Attractant can include any mineral or salt typeproduct used to attract deer and other big game animals. There are manyvarieties of mixtures with trace minerals, minerals, salts, and thelike. These can include but are not limited to deer lick salts, deerminerals, and attractants with a salt base. Primarily available in 2forms which are loose powder salt or mineral or in a salt or mineralblock.

Liquid UV Brighteners can include UV tracer dyes or UV dyes. For ourtest subject we used UV tracer dyes from Risk Reactor but several othercompanies make tracer dyes and dyes also.

The Liquid UV Brightener can be added as a supplement to the Dry Mineralor Salt Attractant just prior to taking the attractant to the field orin the field. The Liquid UV Enhancer can also be added to the DryMineral or Salt Attractant in the manufacturing process as long asprecautions are made during packaging that there will be no leakage. TheMixture can also be thoroughly mixed by placing in a container andshaking or agitating. The container can be as simple as a bucket, bag,or other mixing container.

Table 4B shows the mixture components of dry food attractants and dry UVbrighteners.

TABLE 4B Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeDry Mineral or Salt Any weight Any weight Attractant Dry or Powder FormApproximately 1%- Approximately 20%- UV Brightener 30% mixture by 30%mixture by weight weight

Dry Mineral or Salt Attractant can include any mineral or salt typeproduct used to attract deer and other big game animals. There are manyvarieties of mixtures with trace minerals, minerals, salts, and thelike. These can include but are not limited to deer lick salts, deerminerals, and attractants with a salt base. Primarily available in 2forms which are loose powder salt or mineral or in a salt or mineralblock.

Powder or dry form UV Brightener can include any number of powder orcrystalline UV brightener or whitening agents. For our test subject weused a Fluorescent Whitening agent called Benetex OB-M1 in which thechemical name is cited in the application

The Dry or Powder Form UV Brightener can be added as a supplement to theDry Mineral or Salt Attractant just prior to taking the attractant tothe field or in the field. The Dry or Powder Form UV Brightener can alsobe added to the Dry Mineral or Salt Attractant in the manufacturingprocess by mixing thoroughly in a mixer or by hand. Mixture can also bethoroughly mixed by placing in a container and shaking or agitating. Thecontainer can be as simple as a bucket, bag, or other mixing container.

Table 5A shows the mixture components of a gel form deer scent andliquid brightener.

TABLE 5A Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeGel Form Deer Scent Any wt Any wt Liquid UV Approximately 1%-Approximately 20%- Brightener 30% mixture by 30% mixture by volumevolume

The Gel Form Deer Scent can include gels with deer urine, including butnot limited to doe urine, buck urine, mixed urine, doe in heat urine,doe in estrus urine, rutting buck, and the like. All urine based scentused for attracting deer.

Liquid UV Brightener can include UV tracer dyes or UV dyes. For our testsubject we used UV tracer dyes from Risk Reactor but several othercompanies make tracer dyes and dyes also.

We found that the Liquid UV Brightener should be added to the Gel FromDeer scent during gel formation during the manufacturing process. Roomtemperature seems to work best. No consumer mixing is needed. Themixture should be stored in a dark tinted bottle to prevent breakdown ofthe UV enhancers.

Table 5B shows the mixture components for Gel Deer Scent and Dry UVbrightener.

TABLE 5B Range Amounts Mixture Components or percentages Preferred RangeGel Form Deer Scent any any Powder form UV Approximately 1%-Approximately 20%- Brightener 30% mixture by 30% mixture by weightweight

Gels can include but are not limited to Hydrogels, Organogels, Xerogels,and the like. Gel Form Deer Scent can include gels with deer urine,including but not limited to doe urine, buck urine, mixed urine, doe inheat urine, doe in estrus urine, rutting buck, and the like. All urinebased scent used for attracting deer.

Powder or dry form UV Brightener can include any number of powder orcrystalline UV brightener or whitening agents. For our test subject weused a Fluorescent Whitening agent called Benetex OB-M1 in which thechemical name is cited in the application

We found that the Powder or Dry Form UV Brightener should be added tothe Gel From Deer scent during gel formation during the manufacturingprocess. Room temperature seems to work best. No consumer mixing isneeded. The mixture should be stored in a dark tinted bottle to preventbreakdown of the UV enhancers.

The invention can include different mixture compositions that combineanimal attractants and a UV brightener together. The mixturecompositions can be clear and colorless, and be packaged in small jars,and the like.

The UV brightener used can be any color and must be scent free, since ascent or fragrance would change the affect of the attractant.

The novel compositions can be stored in small glass bottles, such asdark tinted bottles, ranging size from small bottles of approximately ½ounce to approximately 4 ounces. Larger containers can be up to 1 to 5gallons.

Dry versions of the attractant be based on bags that are sized fromapproximately 5 to 50 pounds.

Other types of delivery systems can also be used for the novelcompositions, such as but not limited to foams, aerosolizedapplications, vaporized applications, misted applications, fumes, dusts,powders, and the like.

While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shownin various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it haspresumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be,nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such othermodifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings hereinare particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth andscope of the claims here appended.

We claim:
 1. An animal attractant composition consisting of: an animalattractant substance, wherein the animal attractant substance includesdeer scent selected from the group consisting of doe urine, buck urine,mixed urine, doe-in-heat, doe-in-estrus, and rutting buck; and a UV(ultraviolet) brightener mixed with the animal attractant substance torender the animal attractant substance brightly fluorescent in nearultraviolet light, wherein near ultraviolet light is defined as lightwith a wavelength of between about 200 and 400 nanometers, and theultraviolet brightener attracts animals to where the animal attractantsubstance is located.
 2. The animal attractant composition of claim 1,wherein the UV brightener includes a brightener of greater thanapproximately 1% per weight of the attractant composition.
 3. The animalattractant composition of claim 2, wherein the UV brightener includes abrightener of greater than 1% per weight of the attractant composition.4. The animal attractant composition of claim 1, wherein the UVbrightener is a liquid.
 5. The animal attractant composition of claim 1,wherein the UV brightener is a dry powder.
 6. The animal attractantcomposition of claim 1, wherein the deer scent is selected from thegroup consisting of doe urine, buck urine, mixed urine.
 7. The animalattractant composition of claim 1, wherein the deer scent is selectedfrom the group consisting of doe-in-heat, doe-in-estrus, and ruttingbuck.